Ken Hagen earns Accredited Learning Environments Planner Designation
Ken Hagen, OPN’s K-12 Region Leader, has received an Accredited Learning Environments Planner (ALEP) designation, a mark of excellence developed to reflect the knowledge, skills and abilities of educational facility planners. The ALEP credential was designed to elevate professional standards, enhance individual performance and identify those in the educational environment industry who demonstrate the knowledge essential to the practice of educational facility planning.
According to the Association for Learning Environments, creator of the ALEP credential: “An individual who has been certified by A4LE has achieved the highest qualification in our profession. Clients can appoint ALEPs with confidence that they have been examined for competence by our association.”
Ken has spent most of his 20 years of practice designing student-centric spaces. His recent experience includes multiple new high schools, master planning and implementation for several districts, a new performing arts center for a school district, and a re-imagined visitor experience at a performance venue for a university. He also led the transformation of a university’s center for advanced engineering. In planning and designing spaces for both students and educators – from pre-K to postgraduate – Ken has an approach that is rooted in integrating pedagogy, design, and function. He finds inspiration in the intersection of materials and experiences: color, texture, and lighting create mood and are a muse for both the designer and user.
Ken achieved certification by completing ALEP’s Advanced Academy Certificate Program. Once a candidate has earned the credential, they must maintain it by fulfilling certification renewal requirements every three years, in addition to maintaining minimum continuing education units each year.
The Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) is the only professional organization whose principal purpose is improving the places where children learn. A4LE embraces a diverse group of professionals with one single goal – building healthy, safe, high performance and sustainable learning environments that enhance student and teacher performance and support culture and community vitality.
